


We Are Always Being Tested

by RainbowArches



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Coulson knows what he's doing, Gen, I Believe in Jasper Sitwell
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-19
Updated: 2014-09-19
Packaged: 2018-02-18 00:27:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 787
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2328593
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RainbowArches/pseuds/RainbowArches
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Akela's new, but she's getting there.</p>
            </blockquote>





	We Are Always Being Tested

Akela was right. That should not warrant disciplinary action, but apparently it did. She disobeyed a direct order to avoid unfavorable results, because, for once, she knew better than Coulson. Now she was being punished. She was right; she got the job done better her own way, and now she was suspended from field duty. Freaking Coulson.  
She thought this was the progress that he wanted. This wasn’t her being brash or acting out; she trusted her gut, like he always told her to do. Her gut even proved her right. And now she was taking out her frustrations on a punching bag; look at all this progress!  
“Bad day?”  
Sitwell. She didn’t even have to turn around. He usually turned up during her bad moods; he was becoming very recognizable to her.  
“Did Coulson order you to beat that punching bag into submission?”  
She didn’t respond.  
“He wants to see you before you leave today.”  
Akela rolled her eyes. They’d debriefed already. How many angles does he want the story from?  
“You hungry?”  
Go away.  
“C’mon. Let’s get lunch.”  
Akela sighed and stomped off to change.

They decided on sandwiches, which they ate at the fountain. It was a nice day; the square was crowded with students and business people on their breaks. Sometimes, when they had lunch here, Sitwell would try to get her to guess the embarrassing secrets of passersby, because they had to get their fun from somewhere.  
Akela actually liked Sitwell, despite her grumbling. He knew and respected her limits when it came to socializing and he took everything in stride. This was probably why Coulson liked him too; Sitwell was so easy to kid around with, you’d forget how seriously he takes this job. It’s part of what made him a great agent. Plus he let her buy her own damn food. That always became an argument with other guys.  
“So I heard you were right this time.”  
“Tell Coulson that.”  
“He knows. You should have heard him raving.”  
Akela raised her eyebrows at him. “Raving? He gave me suspension. I thought he was mad.”  
“Of course he’s mad. You put yourself in jeopardy for the sake of the team. Only he’s allowed to do that.”  
Akela frowned. “He said I was suspended for disobeying orders.”  
“Well he can’t suspend you for being smart and selfless.”  
“So what’s the problem?”  
“The problem is this is the third time you disobeyed a direct order in the field, and protocol states that he should have suspended you the first time.”  
Akela paused. She knew the protocol, but she hadn’t notice the leeway Coulson had given her. She had been too angry with herself for screwing up to question it. “Why didn’t he suspend me the first time?”  
“Good question. I guess you can talk to him about that later. What I will say is that you’ve made a lot of progress these past couple of months, and Coulson has noticed. But he doesn’t exactly reward progress; he encourages it. In slightly unusual ways, sometimes.”  
“I’m not feeling very encouraged.”  
“Well, you’ll see him later. Don’t worry.”

Nearly everyone had left for the day by the time Akela decided to see Coulson. Lunch with Jasper had relaxed her enough that she wasn’t distracted, but she still wasn’t in the mood to talk to him. Now that she had nothing else to do but go home, she needed to settle things with him if she was going to get a good night’s sleep. She found him in his office, doing paperwork.  
“You wanted to see me, sir?”  
“I wanted to talk to you about your training,” Coulson said without looking up.  
Akela stepped further into the room and waited for him to continue.  
“I think it should be more intensive. We’ll focus more on strategy, observation, people skills-” Akela rolled her eyes- “so that you can take a more leading role in the field.”  
Akela blinked. “You think I should lead a team?’ When did that become a good idea?  
Coulson finally looked up at her. “I think, with a few adjustments to your training, you’ll be ready to lead a team before long, yeah.” He smiled. “You certainly have the time now.”  
Akela fought hard to keep her expression neutral. “I’m not always right.”  
“Neither am I. But I’m right about this.”  
Sometimes Akela couldn’t understand Coulson; she could never predict how he would respond to her actions. And his unwavering faith in people scared her. She had never inspired that kind of faith in anyone else before. It was scarier than any mission she’d been on. Freaking Coulson. She couldn’t prove him wrong.  
“Thank you, sir,” she said, and left for the night.


End file.
